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National Geographic (TV network)
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel and also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel that is owned by Walt Disney Television through National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and National Geographic Society (27%). The flagship channel airs non-fiction television programs produced by National Geographic and other production companies. Like History and Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual content involving nature, science, culture, and history, plus some reality and pseudo-scientific entertainment programming. Its primary sister network worldwide, including the United States, is Nat Geo Wild, which focuses on animal-related programming, including the popular Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan. As of February 2015, National Geographic is available to approximately 86,144,000 pay television households (74% of households with television) in the United States. Overview In the United States, the National Geographic Channel launched on January 12, 2001 as a joint venture of National Geographic Television & Film and Fox Cable Networks. National Geographic provides programming expertise and the Fox Networks Group provides its expertise on distribution, marketing, and advertising sales. The ’90s: The Last Great Decade, a documentary series narrated by Rob Lowe, pulled in 1.10 million viewers, and was the second highest-rated July telecast in the National Geographic Channel rating history. The 2000s: A New Reality, also narrated by Lowe, premiered on July 12, 2015. On November 14, 2016, National Geographic Channel was rebranded as simply National Geographic, dropping the "Channel" from its name. On December 14, 2017, in a deal, The Walt Disney Company announced it will buy the majority of 21st Century Fox. Disney would assume control of Fox's controlling stake in the National Geographic partnership. Following the acquisition, National Geographic and its sister channels would be folded into Walt Disney Television, with the president of the National Geographic Partners reporting directly to the Walt Disney Television chairman. Disney officially closed the deal on March 20, 2019, adding Nat Geo into its portfolio of networks. TV shows National Geographic Channel's TV shows, in alphabetical order: Theme fanfare music The National Geographic Channel's signature theme fanfare music, which is played at the beginning of many of the channel's television programs, was composed by Elmer Bernstein. It was originally written in 1964 for the Society's television specials, which were broadcast on CBS, ABC, PBS and NBC from 1964 until the early 2000s. Other National Geographic US channels National Geographic Channel HD The United States 720p high definition simulcast of the National Geographic Channel launched in January 2006. It is available on all major cable and satellite providers. Nat Geo Wild Nat Geo Wild (stylized as Nat Geo WILD or abbreviated as NGW) is a cable/satellite TV channel focused on animal-related programs. It is a sister network to National Geographic Channel and it is the latest channel to be jointly launched by the National Geographic Society and Fox Cable Networks. It was launched in United States on March 29, 2010, focusing primarily on wildlife and natural history programming. Nat Geo Tamil Nat Geo Tamil, part of National Geographic Channels International and 21st Century Fox. It is aimed at younger audiences, providing programming based around outdoor adventure, travel and stories involving people having fun while exploring the world in Tamil Regional Language Nat Geo Mundo Nat Geo Mundo is broadcast in American Spanish, and was launched in 2011. It shares programming with the Nat Geo Channel available in Hispanic American countries. Nat Geo TV Nat Geo TV is a application for smartphones and tablet computers, along with Windows 10. It allows subscribers of participating pay television providers (such as Time Warner Cable and Comcast Xfinity) numerous viewing options: *individual episodes of National Geographic and Nat Geo Wild's original series and documentaries (which are made available live) Controversy and criticism In 2013, the network began airing the reality show Are You Tougher Than a Boy Scout?. National Geographic Channel was criticized for their association with the Boy Scouts of America, an organization which, until a vote in May of that year that overturned its ban, had forbidden openly gay members. Archaeologists have protested that National Geographic shows such as Diggers and Nazi War Diggers promote the looting and destruction of archaeological sites by promoting the work of metal detecting souvenir hunters and collectable dealers. In 2013 the National Geographic Channel set off a firestorm of controversy with its reality show Diggers. Professional archaeologists from the Society for Historical Archaeology, the largest scholarly group concerned with the archaeology of the modern world (A.D. 1400–present), roundly criticized the network for promoting the theft of cultural materials on public and private land. The show Nazi War Diggers was accused of showing unscientific and disrespectful handling of human remains. A promotional quote from a military relic dealer, "I feel that by selling things that are Nazi-related and for lots of money, I am preserving things that museums don't want to deal with," was removed from the channel's website in March 2014. National Geographic expressed regret for how the series was presented by its own website but maintained that many of the accusations against the series were based on misinformation. The program was subsequently pulled from the schedules while National Geographic reviewed allegations against the series. The show was repackaged, amid controversy, as Battlefield Recovery for air during 2016 on Channel 5 in the UK. See also * List of documentary television channels * List of programs broadcast by National Geographic Channel * National Geographic Abu Dhabi * National Geographic Channel (Asia) * National Geographic (Australia and New Zealand) * National Geographic (Canadian TV channel) * National Geographic Channel (France) * National Geographic Channel (Germany) * National Geographic Channel (Greece) * National Geographic Channel (India) * National Geographic Channel (Netherlands) * National Geographic Channel (South Korea) * National Geographic Channel (UK and Ireland) * National Geographic Farsi * Nat Geo People External links * National Geographic U.S.A. * National Geographic Latin America * National Geographic UK * National Geographic Russia * National Geographic India * National Geographic Australia * National Geographic Netherlands * National Geographic Iran Channel Category:Entertainment companies of the United States Category:Media companies based in Washington, D.C. Category:Television channels and stations established in 2001 Category:English-language television stations in the United States Category:National Geographic Channel Category:National Geographic Partners Category:Disney television networks Category:Peabody Award winners Category:American television networks